Subject to approval work, the project could start in 2020. However, it is possible that construction of the multi-storey car and commercial developments on the three acres of land on the south side owned by Network could start before then.

no no no no no no no no no no, don't be so effing stupid. leave the front alone

Hopefully they'll see sense on that, but the principle of expanding the station in a £100 million plus project is brilliant and is exactly what the city needs, but they need to be careful what they do with that front or they'll just p1ss off everyone.

I was expecting the biggest development news this morning to be the M4 relief road, but when I went to the petrol station this morning and saw the picture on the front of the Echo I just had to buy it.

well its good to see CCC and WG have both bought in to it and seeing as this will be a major development, tied in with WGs Callaghan Square and CCC's Central Square could see Cardiff finally have a good quality CBD...its still ten years off completion thought but St Davids 2 took that time and we're all happy with the end result.

This tied in with the PDR extension, the M4 relief road and electrification of the mainline is all good news for Cardiff infrastructure, lets get the airport sorted now.

no no no no no no no no no no, don't be so effing stupid. leave the front alone

The 'plan' is…

The front of the station begin expanded outwards with a strikingly designed wave effect roof – similar to the that on the Senedd building – and a glass frontage allowing for the existing 1920s existing facade to be clearly visible and maintained

Not sure what I think about the specific design.. but any significant expansion and improvement of the station was always going to have to involve either demotion of the existing building, or something that expanded it or enveloped it. People on "this" forum have been saying a more serious revamp of the station was required.

And actually, if done sensibly, a nice enveloping job can look great. Imagine the stone work all cleaned up and the building sitting inside a new glass dome/canopy. It could be a bit like the British Museum Great Courtyard... Perhaps the existing concourse could become part restaurant / part waiting lounge... or a tourist information centre (allowing the Old Library to become a proper museum, as funding allows).

And the retail/catering options would be a real boon. In London stations they've made travelling much more pleasant, and can indeed become a mini destination in their own right. Travel catering/retail is also one of the successes of modern commercial development. The rents operators are willing to pay to secure this space provides the evidence of this. And whilst some people may question whether there should be so much commercial space - perhaps the design could be more understated and complementary to the existing building without so much -, the income from this space will provide much of the funds needed for the broader redevelopment.

Usual naysayers on Walesonline. Someone saying it should be spent on health and child poverty. Another one complaining Cardiff gets everything and it should be spent elsewhere (Govt spending per person in Cardiff is substantially below Welsh average, actually). And others saying train service should be improved before they spend money on stations. On this latter point, I have a little sympathy, but it represents a fundamental misunderstanding about how funding and rail operations work. The station will struggle to cope with the expanded services and passenger numbers expected - so services will deteriorate without investment. And improved services would push up demand - meaning the station would struggle. So you need to invest in the station alongside trying to improve service reliability.

And, this money comes from Whitehall (its Network Rail grant) rather than Cardiff Bay - which helps fund the operation of rail services in Wales. So its not as if this money would be available to spend on the train services directly anyway. Its a case of use it or lose it... A more interesting question is whether the money would be better spent on other Metro projects. Not sure about that one... and I think the Welsh Gov is taking the lead on that.

It looks good and better for being unexpected too. I'm not sure that there's an either/or with the funding for the Metro though. These retail led schemes are substantially funded by future rental income, a big part of Network Rail's business now.

I hope the waiting area has been included, covering the platforms has to be a must. Need plans for a bus statipn now on the old marland house site with entrances on wood st and saunders road. All exciting stuff as long as they dont take away all the public space

ok, maybe my first assessment of covering the current exterior was a little premature. If done sympathetically it would look great and hopefully there will be some joined up thinking with the developers of Central Square and Callaghan Square to make the station look seamless

I just hope the face lift given to the back of the station is temporary and they have plans to completely redesign this part. After all, if Central is meant to be in the middle of the CBD with exits to the north and south, then the entrances need to reflect this